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7.4.5 Effective Founder Number

The effective founder number ($ f_e$) was calculated as:

$\displaystyle f_e = \dfrac{ 1 } { \sum{ p_i^2 } } $

where $ p_i$ is the proportion of genes contributed by ancestor i to the current population [LacyLacy1989]. If all founders had contributed equally to the population, then $ f_e$ would be the same as the actual number of founders. When founders contribute to the population unequally, $ f_e$ is smaller than the actual number of founders. The greater the inequity in founder contributions, the smaller the effective founder number.

A subpedigree approach, similar to that used for calculation of inbreeding (see 7.4.1 for details), is also used for calculating $ f_e$.

Up One Level A Manual for use of PyPedal
A software package for pedigree analysis		 Contents Index
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Release 2.0.0rc7, documentation updated on November 29, 2005
Revised May 7, 2008.
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